Sarfaraz Khan cannot wait for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, commencing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, September 19, and sharing the Indian team’s dressing room with the legendary Virat Kohli. Although Sarfaraz shared a dressing room with Kohli during his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) previously, this dream was always there for him to share the dressing room with Kohli while representing the Indian national team.
Virat Kohli was unavailable in the initial Test series between England and Pakistan earlier this year because of personal reasons, but now both have made their names to the squad to play Bangladesh in the first Test.
It was an interesting revelation that Sarfaraz spoke about Kohli’s unique approach in the run-up to matches. The young batter said Kohli has the simplest and the best way of breaking down the match situation before his teammates.
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“He’s not passionate; his spirit is unmatched. In pre-match meetings, he takes charge, explaining how many runs he plans to score off each bowler.”. That takes guts to stand up, talk with such confidence, and then deliver the next day is something very rare,” Sarfaraz said on JioCinema.
Remembering his first match against Kohli at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Sarfaraz commented, “I scored 45 runs off 21 balls, and he bowed to me in respect. It was an unforgettable moment. My dream has always been to share an Indian team dressing room with him. I hope to make that dream come true if given the opportunity.”
He made his India debut in the third Test against England at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in February. There, he impressed all and sundry with an attacking 62 off 66 balls in the first innings before being unluckily run out. However, in the second innings, he remained unbeaten to score 68 off 72 deliveries as India went on to thrash England by a massive 434 runs.
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Though not much could be done in the fourth Test at Ranchi, where he could muster only 14 and 0, he came out very strongly in the final Test of the season in Dharamsala, smashing a well-crafted 60-ball 56 in India’s only innings. With India scheduled to play ten Test matches in the next few months, this Mumbai-born batter would try his best to maintain his promising start in international cricket.
